"why is the oil form of energy so important" Because it meets several requirements for an economy of global scale, not the least of which are extremely high en

"why is the oil form of energy so important" Because it meets several requirements for an economy of global scale, not the least of which are extremely high energy density and ease of transport. "I do wonder why we're not switching from oil to natural gas a lot faster though." A combination of market forces and the fact that our entire infrastructure is geared towards petroleum - not the sort of thing you can replace with any ease or quickness.